Say You'll Stay
by WonderGirl001
Summary: He's working at the gas station. She's on the run. He has Sandy. She has no one. Sodapop doesn't want any trouble, but she needed his help. Everyone always says he's too nice. *Under Construction*
1. Chapter 1

**Hey! This is my new story, _Say You'll Stay,_ I absolutely love Rob Lowe, he's hilarious in Parks and Rec, and he's so adorable as Sodapop!**

 **Enjoy and make sure you review!**

 **I owe nothing.**

* * *

 _Run._

 _Faster._

 _Don't stop._

 _Don't look behind you._

Sharp rocks pierced the tender flesh of her foot as her bare feet hit the street's pavement.

The young girl screamed in pain as she fell, tearing a hole in her silk nightgown. The hard road scrapped a jagged line of skin off her knee, and blood gushed from the dirtied wound. In an instant, she was up and continued to run with a limp, too blinded by fear to be concerned with pain.

No one was in the road. Everyone was tucked away in their warm, safe beds asleep.

If only they knew.

The woman at the window flinched when the pale, wide eyed girl flung money through the tiny hole.

"I need a ticket on the next bus out of here!"

"The next bus comes in a couple minu-"

"I'll take it!"

The ticket lady slid the change and ticket to the frazzled girl who went to take her items.

"Is that blood?" The window lady gasped as she saw the dried, red substance caked onto the girl's palms.

The girl snatched her things and took off towards the bus stop.

"Hey, someone stop that girl!" The window lady shouted to a confused bus station. As an old lady began to board, the girl shoved her in order to hop onto the bus.

"Hey, now, you'll get to where your going!" the old lady snapped as the driver closed the doors. Ignoring her, the jumpy girl ran to the back of the bus and flung herself into a lone seat.

 _I'm safe._

As the bus began to pick up speed, the girl curled up in a ball and allowed the tears she'd been holding back to fall.

* * *

"Hey, girl, wake up! Bus has gotta go!"

Her eyes snapped open as she shot up in her seat.

The busdriver scowled at her in the reflection of the rearview mirror.

"We're at your stop," he said, "Get off. I gotta move."

Shakily, she grabbed her backpack and limped off the bus.

The sun had just begun to rise, and she did not know where she had been taken. Reaching in her jacket pocket, she pulled out the wrinkled bus ticket.

"Tulsa," she read aloud in a hoarse voice.

Yikes.

Her voice sounded like she had been garbling marbles.

 _I need some water._

She glanced down to her cut, blackened feet.

 _And some shoes._

She glanced around the town. Not too many houses inhabited the area, and the ones she saw were small. No stores. Only a DX gas station.

Slinging her single bag on her shoulder, she trudged down the road to the station. One car was parked. The station was probably opening for the day.

Bells attached to the door jingled as she pushed the door open.

"Hello, good morning- Oh, cheese and crackers!" the boy behind the counter screamed as he caught of a glimpse of the newcomer.

The girl wanted to burst into tears, but instead she ran to the bathroom.

Hazily, she slammed the door and fumbled with the lock. Sitting on the closed-lid toilet, she rested her head in her hands to and took a couple shaky breaths to steady herself.

After a couple of moments, she dared to look at herself in the mirror.

Gross, well, she couldn't blame the cashier for his unpleasant reaction. She was a mess. Her tangled, blonde hair looked like a tumbled weed, and her red lipstick dripped down her mouth as if she had drunken blood. Her mascara smeared from her empty, haunted brown eyes to her cheeks.

Her brown jacket barely covered her lavender, silk nightgown that was now stained and torn, and the dirty gas station floor felt cold on her cut, blistered feet.

She felt naked. Worthless. Vulnerable.

It was getting hard to breath.

She couldn't stay in this tiny bathroom anymore.

She fumbled with the lock again and ran out the bathroom only to crash into the cashier boy.

"Woah! Easy there, are you okay?" His voice was kind. Too kind. She wanted to cry all over again.

His large hands grasped her tiny biceps to hold her upright. She was so skinny and fragile. He could have easily thrown her across the gas station if he wanted to.

"Do. . .do you maybe sell hair dye?" She rasped. He released her and glanced around the store thoughtfully.

"Yeah, not too many selections," he said with a smile, curious eyes staring into her dirty face, "hair dye isn't really our best seller here."

"Any scissors?" her voice was barely above a whisper.

He walked to the counter and came back with large scissors. She took them and went to peruse the selection of hair dye as he returned to work. The station had three options: blonde, blue, and black.

Well, she was already blonde, and she didn't want to stick like a sore Smurf thumb.

With dye and scissors in her hands, she headed back into the bathroom and dumped the contents of her backpack into the sink. Her bag only contained a hairbrush, toothbrush, wad of cash, driver's license, deodorant, and a pair of black socks.

Trying to relieve her feet from any additional damage, she slipped on the socks and gathered everything back into her bag. The sink's hot water knob was gone so she settled for ice cold water as she used all the hand soap to clean the ruined makeup off her face.

Fifteen minutes later, her face was as clean as she could get it with cheap soap. Though with the makeup gone, nothing could distract from her haunted, almost black eyes and hollow cheeks. Staring into the mirror, she grabbed her waist long blonde hair.

Suddenly, a flash of blinding, hot hatred coursed through her. Strands of blonde hair fell to the ground like fall leaves as she began snipping, more like hacking, off chunks of her pretty hair.

An hour later, she emerged with chin length, unbelievably uneven, ink black hair.

The gas station became more lively while she was in there transforming herself.

While finishing ringing up a trucker, the lanky boy from the cashier caught a glimpse at her and let out a low whistle.

"Wow, nice 'do," he joked, running his fingers through his scruffy bangs. Suddenly, she felt very shy and _very_ aware she was in a tore nightgown. Apparently, he noticed too.

"Um," he uncomfortably looked away from her, "don't you have any shoes? Or pants?"

"N-no," she whispered, "I-I don't . . . h-have . . . a-anything!"

Just when she thought she couldn't cry anymore, another flood of tears cascaded down her cheeks. Shocked, the cashier boy stared as the girl wept in her hands.

"Woah! Hey, hey," he jumped over the counter and rushed to her, "No need for that! I wasn't insulting your fashion choices or anything! I don't know much about style myself, I'm kind of a bum."

Through tear-filled eyes she tried to laugh, but instead made a straggled wheeze.

Looking around the station, he led her into an employee break room with only a dirty refrigerator, small table, and three chairs.

He pulled out a chair for her, and once she was settled he sat across from her.

He placed his hands on the table and interlocked his fingers, unsure what to say.

"Well, first thing's first, what is your name?"

She took a deep breath and finally looked at him from her hands with red eyes. "I'm. . .uh Louisa, . . . just Louisa."

"Nice to meet you Just Louisa," he smiled, "I'm Sodapop Curtis."

She frowned. "Huh?"

"Yep. Speechless you have the pleasure of hearing such an awesome name, right?"

She let out a shaky laugh. "That's ridiculous."

"Well, that's your opinion. What kind of name is Just Louisa?" he said in a teasing tone, "to me, Sodapop is a great name! I might even name my kid that, Sodapop Jr."

She just stared at him.

"Tough crowd," he said, "Are you okay?"

She stayed silent again. His eyes flicked down to her dress.

"You're not a . . . prostitute, are you?"

A tiny light of indignation sparked in her eyes. "I am _not_ a prostitute!" she yelled.

Or tried to.

Her voice still hurt.

Sodapop noticed and got her a bottled water from the fridge.

"Okay, sorry, I meant no offense," he sounded genuine, "but you can't exactly blame me when you're running around like that. Why, exactly, are you running around like that?"

After a long drink of water, she harshly looked away from him. "I can't tell you."

He held his hands up in surrender. "Ok, ok, can I call someone for you?"

A long pause stretched in between them. Slowly, she looked down at her lap.

"I-I don't have anyone to call," she said, tears welling up again.

Sodapop's eyes widened. "Hey, hey, no more crying! That won't do any good!" he leaned closer to her, "I'll tell ya what, let me finish up my shift today, you can wait here, and I'll take you to my house so we can figure something out over a bowl of mac and cheese, okay?"

She scowled at him with suspicious eyes.

He scooted away from her. "Hey, don't give me that look! Nothing bad ever came from mac and cheese, it can fix anything! I won't hurt you. I swear on the good, honorable name of Sodapop Curtis!"

He wasn't sure, but he thought he saw the corners of her mouth twitch just a little.

"Okay . . . Sodapop."


	2. Chapter 2

In order to kill time while Sodapop worked, Louisa stayed in the break room and slept. When Sodapop finally woke her, he had a pair of shoes in his hand and a guy who was an inch or two shorter than Sodapop was with him. He wore the same DX shirt as strange-named boy, but his sleeves were cut off, presumably to show off his toned, tanned arms.

"What's cookin', good lookin'?" the new guy laughed with a surprisingly high-pitched.

Frowning, Sodapop nudged him hard with his shoulder. "Here. Steve -" he jerked his head towards his grinning friend, "brought these for you. Ignore him, we all do."

Sitting up from the chair she curled up in, Louisa took the shoes with a shy smile towards the boy, Steve. "Thanks."

She flinched when he flung himself down on one knee and valiantly grabbed her tiny hand. "Anythin' for a fine lady such as yaself."

He leaned forward with a devilish smirk. "Might I just say, you are breathtaking and I happen to be very single and very lonely on Friday nights."

Sodapop shoved him away from her, and Steve fell to floor. "Lay off, ya goof."

Baffled, Louisa quickly slipped on the too big tennis shoes.

"We thought you wouldn't wanna be walking around barefoot," Sodapop explained as Steve hopped to his feet.

"Am I going somewhere now?" Louisa asked, anxiety creeping into her chest.

"Yeah, it's five right now so I'm off for the day," Sodapop smiled, he pulled a pair of keys from his pocket. "My brother let me borrow his truck for today so I'll drive to my house."

"I'm just going along for the ride," Steve put in.

Looking at the two boys with completely different smiles, Sodapop's kind and Steve's mischievous, Louisa found herself wanting to trust the odd pair. They looked so harmless despite their rough, muscular exteriors.

She nodded, and Steve opened the door for them and with a dramatically low bow said, "My lady."

Louisa couldn't help giggling.

Sodapop's truck was not anything fancy. It was old and small, and only three people could fit in it, even then it was a tight fit, but Louisa didn't care. She was grateful to finally be leaving the gas station.

As Sodapop drove, Steve filled the silence by chattering like an excited chipmunk.

"Oh man, I sure was surprised to be walking up to work, and Sodapop bouncing around the place yellin' 'bout how he found a girl."

"I was not yelling," Sodapop interjected.

"I thought at first he had been getting some side action since his girl been out of town-"

"Steve, shut your mouth-"

"He just kept repeating how this chick needs help and asks me to get some stuff, but all I had in my employee locker were some shoes," Steve rambled. "I was so confused, but Sodapop just kept freakin out-"

"I was not freaking out-"

"I hadn't seen him that excited since he first got into Sandy's pants!"

The truck swerved, and Sodapop wrestled at the wheel until the car was safely cruising down the road.

"First off, I was perfectly calm," Sodapop snapped with wide eyes, "second, quit making me and Sandy's first time sound like it was vulgar!"

With that said, Sodapop settled down. Steve just sent Louisa a sly wink.

They arrived at a small, white house with fence surrounding the area. The place was in serious need of upkeep. Tall grass and weeds wildly grew around the lawn, and the chipped, white paint needed a new layer. It was totally normal and inconspicuous.

Louisa smiled.

 _Perfect._

"Home sweet home!" Sodapop declared as he parked the car in front of the house. Sodapop slid out the car easily and offered his hand to assist Louisa. She placed her hand in Sodapop's. His calloused hand molded surprisingly well into her soft, small hand. Her fingers tingled with the heat that radiated off him.

She jerked her hand back.

"Sorry!" Sodapop took a step back from her, unsure what was wrong.

"No, it's nothing. Sorry, I'm just jumpy." Her excuse was lame, but Sodapop politely didn't say anymore.

The house was semi messy with dirty plates on the coffee table, empty bottles, and clothes strew all over the living room. The couch had a brown stain on a cushion, and a lamp was missing its lampshade. The room lacked knick knacks and flowers to effeminize the masculine atmosphere.

The place definitely needed a woman's touch.

"Follow me," Sodapop ordered while Steve jumped onto the couch and flipped on the tiny TV.

Louisa followed him through a short hallway with three doors at the end lined with photos of himself and three boys.

There were so many pictures on the wall, she could hardly tell the color of the paint. All types of pictures were on display: baby pictures, yearbook photos, random candids, and birthday photos. Each one focused on one of the three boys during different ages.

One picture in particular halted Louisa in her tracks. It was the smallest one of all. The rusted gold frame was thin and delicate. The glass sorely needed a scrubbing, but the smiling faces shone through just as brilliantly.

A tall boy, he had to be around eighteen, held a younger Sodapop and another boy in a secure headlock. The two imprisoned boys looked as if they were screaming for help while their captor had a toothy grin. Two adults, a handsome tan man and a slender, elegant woman, stood behind them with amused smiles on their faces.

"Is this your family?" she asked, slightly embarrassed at the dumb question.

Sodapop stopped and turned to face her. She frowned as a crestfallen look appeared on his face.

"Yeah, it was," he mumbled, staring at the photo. An uncomfortable silence fell on them, before Sodapop turned and opened the door to a room.

Unsure whether or not to follow him, Louisa stood in the hallway and just looked at the picture again until Sodapop returned.

He looked to be a little chubbier in the cheeks and had longer hair, but his eyes were the same. His eyes . . . so lively and joyful . . . until his family was mentioned.

"Here," Sodapop's abrupt voice interrupted her musings. "You can borrow my little brother's clothes until we can get you some new ones. You should fit."

He handed her a pair of jeans and a white t shirt. "You can change in my room."

Seeing her questioning look, he pointed to another door, and she quickly scurried in.

His room was . . .well, definitely a boy's room. The walls were painted a light blue with a large poster of a car hanging over the messy, unmade bed. T shirts and shoes were strewn all over the beige carpet. One dresser with a cracked drawer stood off to the side by the closet. A short bedside table supported a single lamp without a lampshade - how come this house didn't have lampshades? - and a small picture of a girl.

Throwing the clothes on the bed, Alice inspected the pictureframe and her mouth dropped open a little bit. Wow. This girl was a totally babe, every man's wildest dream.

Luxurious blonde curls? Of course.

Perfect pearl teeth? Probably never needed braces.

Tan, flawless skin? Louisa burned never tanned.

Raging jealousy from a black haired, pale skinned potato? Check.

Louisa ran her finger against the picture. This girl probably had to be a daddy's girl and, with looks like that, she probably danced through life. Once, Louisa dreamed of having the perfect life with perfect looks.

And once, she did, but life did not go as she expected.

Now, she was a shell of her former self.

 _Yeah, thanks to. . . no. Don't think of it._

She quickly set the picture down and grabbed the clothes. The white t shirt fit her close enough, but she wouldn't be comfortable until she could buy a bra, and the pants were too long, but she just rolled up the bottoms.

She curled the silk, ruined nightie in her fist. She never wanted to see this horrible thing again. Stomping, she threw open the window and chucked the nightie as far as she could, which wasn't very far.

That constantly happy smile unfurled on Sodapop's face when she opened the door.

"You look great," Sodapop assured her with a thumbs up, "Ponyboy is kinda skinny for his age, but I still wasn't sure how well his clothes would fit."

"I just want to look normal," Louisa deadpanned, ignoring the fluttering feeling in her stomach at his smile, "who's Ponyboy?"

His grin widened. "Ponyboy's my little brother."

Slapping a hand to her forehead, Louisa barked a dry laugh. "Ponyboy. Of course that would be his name."

Sodapop shrugged, smile still in place. "My dad was an original person."

"I'm starting to see that," she replied. Surprisingly, she allowed a thin, genuine smile to stretch on her lips. Sodapop clapped his hands together, delighted at her shift in attitude.

"Are you hungry?"

"I could eat a horse," she confessed. Sodapop beelined for the kitchen while Louisa made her way to the couch. While they were gone, Steve had helped himself to Sodapop's kitchen and now had a burger and a piece of cake in each hand. Idly, he glanced at whoever entered the living room, but the boy quickly shot up in his seat as he stared at Louisa.

He tried to whistle, but his mouth was so full crumbs flew everywhere. "Ain't you all fancied up now," he laughed once he finally swallowed.

Louisa rolled her eyes and took a seat next to him. "I would hardly call jeans fancy."

An unusual sound, in between a squeak and shout, erupted from his lips. "Ah! She speaks more than one syllable!" Steve shouted in surprise, "Sodapop! She ain't a mute!"

Sodapop emerged from the kitchen with a sandwich on a plate and a soda - ha - in his hands. "It's a Christmas miracle, I know!"

Louisa blushed at their teasing. Being in a new place with new clothes was definitely helping her feel better . . . more normal.

"Ah shit!" Steve cursed as he checked his watch, "I gotta get back to the station! See ya later, Soda!"

Then with a chocolate covered mouth, he planted one giant, chocolatey kiss on Louisa's cheek, much to her disgust. "See ya later, my fair lady!"

Sodapop laughed as Louisa hurriedly wiped her cheek. "You gotta love Steve."

"Is that a fact?" Louisa snapped. Sodapop smirked as he handed her the food. Louisa wanted to eat ladylike as she was taught, but her stomach protested. Sodapop stared in surprise as she wolfed down the sandwich and gulped the soda down in a minute.

"Wow, I knew my chef skills were amazing, but not that much," he muttered, sitting in the recliner next to the couch, "I'm flattered."

Louisa's face reddened once more. "I'm so sorry, I just haven't eaten since yesterday morning."

His eyebrows shot up. "Well, how about this," his serious tone stilled her, "I'll make you another sandwich if you answer some questions."

Louisa's dark eyes stared in his baby blue ones evenly. "If you make that two sandwiches and answer some of my own questions then I'll answer anything you want."

"Deal."

Two peanut butter and jellies later, the boy and girl sat across from each other with serious looks on their faces.

"First, what is your last name, Louisa?"

"Um, Cooper."

"You don't seem sure?"

"Hey, my turn to ask a question," Louisa said quickly. "How old are you?"

"I'm sixteen. How old are you?"  
"I'm seventeen, aw you're just a baby."

"Ah, shut up, where are you from?"

"Sand Springs," Louisa shrugged, leaning farther back into the couch, "How come you aren't in school right now?"

"I dropped out," he said, looking a little embarrassed, "I'm kinda stupid. Why aren't you in school?"

"I dropped out too," she admitted. His eyes shot into hers. "Ahem, anyway, who was that Barbie babe you got photographed in your room?"

Sodapop beamed as he ran a hand through his shaggy hair. "Oh, that's my girl, Sandy. I'm seeing her later tonight because she just got back from Florida. She's gorgeous, ain't she?"

Louisa rolled her eyes. "Yeah, totally gorgeous," she muttered. "But everything ain't going to be sunshine and rainbows forever, Sodapop."

"Oh, whatever, I love her and she loves me," he said confidentally, "But let's not change focus here, why did you show up to my gas station like you did?"

The girl stayed silent, refusing to look at Sodapop. Five minutes passed before she finally offered, "Well, I'm just a drifter. I got mugged before I showed up to the DX. I just . . . need some time to get back up on my feet. The thieves took almost everything I had."

She still didn't look at him. Sodapop had an inkling that wasn't the whole truth and almost voiced his feelings, but then he saw the tiniest trembling of her jaw. She blinked away stubborn tears, cursing herself for showing weakness to a stranger.

Finally, Sodapop sighed. "Look, Louisa, you can stay with me and my brothers until you can figure things out."

Her head snapped to him. "What? Really?"

"Soda, who is this?" A new voice caused the two teens to jump to their feet. The tall boy from the family photos stood in the doorway, only he wasn't just tall. He was shredded with taunt, firm muscle gleaming with sweat. In other people's eyes, he was probably more handsome than Sodapop with those curled brown locks. He was absolutely godlike. Unfortunately, his Grecian features were offset by the hard frown and stern eyes. Behind him eagerly peeking over his massive shoulder was the other boy, Ponyboy probably, with curious eyes.

Louisa's muscles tightened with tension, but Sodapop did not seem fazed.

"Oh, Darry! Louisa, this is my older brother, Darry," Sodapop said, gesturing between the two. With the stern expression never faltering, Darry offered his hand to Louisa. She wanted to scream in terror as she felt the restrained strength in his hand. This man was a juggernaut.

"Louisa is my new friend," Sodapop informed his brothers, then noticing the tense atmosphere he stepped in front of the girl protectively. "She's hit a rough patch so she's going to stay with us until she can get on her again. Is that okay?"

Silence.

The only movement in the room was Darry's eyebrows raise in a sardonic expression. "Sodapop, I want to talk to you _alone."_

Louisa gasped when Darry grabbed Sodapop by the back of the neck and dragged his brother to the kitchen like a livid parent with a stubborn child. The two remaining teens stood in uncomfortable silence. Snatching the opportunity, Louisa examined the silent boy. Unlike his older brother, this one had a sweet exterior about him with round cheeks and round, hazel eyes. His incredibly dark hair slicked back into an edgy style.

"If we're quiet enough, we can hear them," Ponyboy's whisper barely reached Louisa's ears. She cracked a smile. Louisa liked him.

The two quietly tiptoed to the entrance of the kitchen and leaned forward, careful not to be seen. Louisa could hear frantic steps as if one of the guys was pacing - probably Darry. Darry's livid voice easily overpowered Sodapop's calm, appeasing one.

"I can't believe you brought in some stranger off the streets to our house! What are we supposed to do with her?"

"Just give her some food and a roof over head until-"

"Oh, great idea! Hey, I saw a druggie on the street today why not move him in too!"

"That's the helping spirit!"

"Shut your damn mouth!"

"Darry-"

"How can we afford another mouth to feed! I'm already busting my ass to keep just you and Pony clothed and safe!"

"I can take on more shifts at the DX-"

"Like that'll help! Why you worryin' about some chick anyway, aren't you already following another skirt around?"

"Darry, it's not like that! Louisa really needs some help."

"Why should I care?"

The noises settled. Blood pounded in Louisa's ears, and Ponyboy's hot breath tickled the back of her neck, causing her to tense. When the silence seemed to be everlasting, Sodapop finally spoke, but his voice held so much genuine sincerity, Louisa's breath was taken away.

"She just looked so lost and scared, sh-she reminded me of, well, _me_ ," he paused. "After mom and pop died. I just couldn't leave someone like that alone."

Suddenly, the tension and anger blew away as easily as releasing held breath. Ponyboy even sighed as if a weight was taken off his shoulders.

"Fine," Darry's voice was still hard, but his true edge was gone. "She can stay-"

"Oh, Darr, than-"  
"I'm not finished," Darry quickly cut him off. "She can stay, but she has to get a job. I refuse to take on any dead weight in this house."  
"Okay! No problem, she can work with me at the DX."

They didn't vocally confirm it, but the result was obvious. Louisa could stay. She secured her hiding place. Sodapop and Darry exited the kitchen before Louisa and Ponyboy could flee, so the two ended up obnoxiously falling backwards in an attempt to scramble out of sight. Darry just frowned at them and retired to his room.

Ponyboy steadied himself and smiled shyly at Louisa. "Well, hey roommie, nice to meet you. Imma go the movies now with Dally and Johnny, see you guys later!"

With that, the skinny boy jogged out of the house and down the street, leaving Louisa alone with Sodapop.

"Well, it's settled," Sodapop clapped his hands together in celebration. "You're staying with us!"

"You didn't have to do anything," Louisa shrugging, trying to appear nonchalant.

She jumped when Sodapop playfully nudged as if what she said was absolutely stupid.

"Ah, shut up Lou," Sodapop laughed as she startled.

"Lou? That's what I'll be called now?"

He smirked devilishly, "I can figure something else out. Like Lulu, Geez Louise, Louisiana, Eeza, Ouiser-"

"Okay, gah, I get it! Lou is fine!" Lou clapped her hands over her ears.

His light, musical laughter danced through the air and floated to her eardrums. His eyes were screwed shut and his mouth stretch in a wide smile, showcasing pearly, straight teeth.

Louisa could get used to his smile.

Too bad she didn't plan on sticking around.

* * *

 **Okay, I know this was not too exciting, but I just had to establish where Louisa would be staying and have her meet Soda's family! Don't worry, lots of things are happening next chapter! Please please please review and tell me what you thought! I would greatly appreciate it!**


End file.
